DAVE ROSS

Ross: Is it all really worth an all-out war with Iran?

Jan 6, 2020, 7:17 AM | Updated: Jan 7, 2020, 7:58 am

Soleimani...

People hold posters showing the portrait of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Major General Qassem Soleimani and chant slogans during a protest outside the U.S. Consulate on January 05, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Is Iran ready to go to war over that drone strike?

I know there’s this line of argument that if they’d killed one of our generals in a drone strike, we would certainly throw a punch, so it’s pretty much guaranteed they will try to teach America a lesson.

But there’s another line of argument that General Soleimani was not especially beloved by all Iranians, and certainly not by the majority of Iranians who quietly detest Iran’s theocracy.

Most Iranians are a lot like us – smart, educated; they want to live prosperous lives. They saw General Soleimani pouring their money into foreign skirmishes with nothing to show for it, except control of the Iraqi government. It turns out they can’t run the place any more than we could.

I met an Iranian playwright in Tehran years ago – middle class family, nice apartment – and his attitude was the theocracy would eventually collapse, but it would be up to Iranians to do it. Not America.

What all this tells me is, why would either side have any interest in another war?

The reason Soleimani had to recruit foreigners to fight in those other countries was because he knew Iranians themselves wanted no part of it. I can’t imagine Trump wants a war because then he becomes George Bush.

I think it’s time for Iran to pretend that Mr. Soleimani died in a freak accident and move on.

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Ross: Is it all really worth an all-out war with Iran?